Team or Family
by SilverMidnight52
Summary: Chris is caught in the middle of Pride and the rest of the team and he has no idea what he's supposed to do.


I'm mad at NCIS: New Orleans right now and I had to write something to get that frustration out.

If you want to be kept up to date with any upcoming stories or want to ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook or on Tumblr under SilverMidnight52! I own nothing.

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Shaking his head Chris held in a sigh as he watched Percy glare at Pride's back. It was a sight that he was sadly getting used to seeing around the office and he hated it. This wasn't the team he was used to. It wasn't the family that he loved.

He couldn't exactly pin point when the changes began, but he knew they were before Hamilton. Yeah, that man had rubbed his boss the wrong way before everything went down. Everyone in a hundred mile radius knew that.

So to the outsiders it was easy for them to think that he had something to do with how the agent was acting now. They didn't know Pride as well as he did though. They didn't see past the walls that the man had.

Sure he was more open with his team than pretty much anyone else. That didn't mean that he told them everything. Far from it. He hid away from them just like he hid away from everyone else. It was just a different level.

At least that's what Chris thought in the beginning. He had always prided himself on knowing his friend. After almost eleven years working together it was nice to think that they weren't just co-workers. They were brothers.

Which was something that Pride had always told him. Hell, it was something that Laurel and even Linda had told him more than once. He was an unofficial Pride and he loved every second of that knowledge.

It was because of that that he hated to admit that he had been blind to what was going on with the man. Now that it was out in the open he couldn't believe just how stupid he was not to see the signs before.

Something had changed in Pride before he really started his hunt for Hamilton and he had missed it. How could he saw that he was the older man's brother if he couldn't see what was right in front of his eyes?

There was no turning back though. Everything was out in the open for the rest of the team and the world to see. The little peace that they used to have was long gone and he doubted they'd get it back anytime soon.

Not with how the rest of the team was acting. Sebastian was the same, for the most part. He was a little more jumpy and nervous around Pride. Almost as if he was waiting for the man to snap at him for something or another.

Loretta was pretty much the same as well. If you didn't count the fact that she was watching Pride out of the corner of her eye as if he was about to go off the deep end and do something stupid. Chris couldn't blame her for that.

Gregorio was pulling away from the man little by little every day. She still trusted him to do his job, but it was as if she wasn't sure if he could be trusted to keep them safe anymore. That he'd lead them into downright suicidal situations.

Percy was the worst though. She was pissed at Pride. Unlike everyone else she wasn't watching and waiting for him to break. She completely believed that he already did. Okay, maybe not that far, but it was close. She was loosing faith in him.

That all left Chris in a precarious position. He still believed in Pride. The man might have hit a rough point, but he was still the same guy that he had been working for since the beginning. Everyone had bad days.

He couldn't just ignore the bad days though. Not when they ended up with two people on the team doing their best to ignore their boss. Hell, it had even gotten to the point of them not going to the bar after a case to hang out.

That wasn't his team and he had no idea what he was supposed to do about it. Did he pick a side and walk away from the others? Did he continue to try to play mediator and hope that it go better? Did he watch as they all fell apart?

All he wanted was his family back. He missed the laughing and the inside jokes. He missed the food that was constantly being made or brought in. He missed the other ganging up on him. He missed… He missed them.

Running a hand over his face he looked around the office again and saw that Percy was leaning against Gregorio's desk whispering about something. Every once in awhile their eyes would flicker over to him and he knew that he wasn't going to like what they were talking about.

He didn't get the chance to find out though. As soon as they started to make their way over to his desk their phones went off letting them know that they had a case and that it was time to be a team again.

Everyone started to the cars and got in their normal places. At least their new normal. Which, of course, meant that no one got in the car with Pride. He was left to drive alone awhile the other four paired up.

"Chris," Percy tried to start not looking at him.

"I don't want to know," he shot back instantly.

"Don't act like you can't see it."

"Of course I can see it. I just think that we have to let him..."

"Let him what? Throw all the rules out the window?"

"Since when have you cared about following the rules?"

"Since not following them has started to get people hurt. Look, Chris, I know that you've known Pride for a long time..."

"Which is why I think he needs some time."

"...But he's not getting better! He's getting worse and it's not going to be him that gets hurt."

"He would never put someone in danger."

"Not a civilian, maybe. What about one of us though? Do you think we'll get the same consideration?"

"Percy, this is Pride we're talking about. He's hit a rough patch, but he's going to be okay."

"Really? You really believe that?"

"I do."

"Then tell me this Christopher. When was the last time you called him 'King'?"

Before he could respond back to her they were pulling up to the crime scene and she was climbing out of the car. Taking a deep breath the agent did his best to ignore the pain that was starting in his head.

A second later he was out of the car following her to the scene. There was work to do and that took president over whatever was going on with the team. That was the one thing they all agreed on anymore.

That didn't stop Gregorio and Percy from getting away from Pride the second that they could. Something that made the older man's jaw tighten before he turned and started to tell Chris and Sebastian what to do.

Chris could see that the dismissal from the women had not just hurt the man, but had angered him a little too. This was the team that he had hand built. It wasn't right that it was falling apart under his leadership.

Knowing that while they were working a case there was nothing that he could do the younger agent did what his boss wanted. He had to focus on finding the truth and putting the bad guys away so no one else could get hurt. He could do that.

Crouching down he starting to take pictures of the wheels of the victims car when something further into the trees caught his eyes. He opened his mouth to call for his team to tell them that he found something but stopped at what he saw.

He might have wanted to wait until they weren't working a case, but it seemed he was the only one. At least that's what he guessed based off the glare that Pride was currently giving Percy as she stormed towards the cars with Gregorio.

For the first time in a long time he found himself not wanting to deal with his team. He was just so tired of watching them self-destruct. He'd call them if he found anything useful. Until then they could do what they were doing.

Slowly making his way into the trees his eyes darted around making sure that there was no one around to jump out at him. He was so focused on making sure no one was around though that he missed the hole that was in the middle of his walkway.

Gasping he fell forward a shot of pain coursing through him when he heard a snap. The pain knocked him off kilter for a moment so he didn't lift his hands to brace his fall. He didn't even see the piece of cider block coming for his head before it was too late.

Chris had no idea how long he had been laying there when he finally opened his eyes again. All he knew was that the was starting to get chilly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that was a bad thing, but he didn't fight to keep his eyes open as they started to slide shut once more.

"Chris!" a voice suddenly yelled out.

It sounded so faraway from him. Almost as if it was under water or he was underwater. He wasn't sure anymore. All he knew in that moment was that he was tired and cold and just wanted to go back to sleep.

He didn't attempt to open his eyes even as the voice got closer. It wasn't until he felt something on his back that he slitted them open. He barely caught sight of the figure above him before they were closing again.

"Chris, please, wake up," the voice pleaded softly or loudly, "Doc! I need some help over here!"

The world seemed to start moving around him after that. He could hear voices as he was lifted up onto something and moved. He really should have known what was going on, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

More voices and bright lights joined the chaos, but the only thing it did was make him feel sick. He wanted to open his mouth to warn whoever was around him what was going to happen. He didn't get far though before he was choking on the vomit.

He felt himself being rolled onto his side as he continued to choke. The little light that he was seeing faded into blackness once more. He couldn't force himself awake anymore. He was just too tired.

The next time the blackness faded away he was laying in a dim hospital room. Looking around he saw the rest of his team taking up different posts around the room. For some reason that didn't warm his heart as much as it normally did.

"Christopher," a voice spoke barely above a whisper, "You're awake."

"Pride," he offered looking at the older man when he took a seat by the bed, "What happened?"

"Your foot got stuck in a hole and you went down. When you went down you hit your head on some concrete and got knocked out. You were behind some trees so it took awhile before we found you."

"It took awhile? Why?"

"Thought you left."

"You thought I left? I never leave a scene without telling you, Pride."

"I know. I… I had sent Percy and Gregorio away earlier and when I didn't see you. I guess I thought you left with them."

"We had a case."

"We did."

"But you thought I left?"

"I did."

"I don't… Pride, I'm tired."

"I'll let you get some sleep."

"No, not… Not that. I'm tired of this fighting. Wondering when the next shoe is going to drop. I don't know what I'm walking into when I go to work in the morning."

"I'm trying."

"I know you are. But you're trying to do this alone and, I hate to tell you, you're failing. You didn't build this team for us to blindly follow you."

"Chris..."

"You built this team because all of us think differently and have different skills. I don't know when it happened, but you started to think of us as your subordinates."

"You are my..."

"We're also you're family. That's what this team has become. A family. You need to remember that, Dwayne. Or it won't be a broken ankle next time."


End file.
